Orange County teen identified as one of two girls killed in Illinois jet ski crash

Lina Portman2 weeks ago

0 1 minute read

Two girls died Tuesday evening after the personal watercraft they were riding collided with a boat on an Illinois lake.

One of the girls, the 16-year-old driver of the vehicle, resided in Lake Forest in Orange County, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office, the state's law enforcement agency. 'Illinois investigating the accident.

According to sheriff's officials, the two girls were riding a Yamaha WaveRunner on Lake Marie near Antioch Township, a town in Illinois about 70 miles north of Chicago.

The 16-year-old girl and her passenger, a 13-year-old girl from Long Grove, Illinois, were traveling at a high speed when their boat collided with a speedboat driven by a 55-year-old man from the 'Illinois. Witnesses told authorities the watercraft was heading directly toward the boat, which was unable to avoid the collision.

Both girls were thrown into the water and lost consciousness, authorities said. They were both wearing life jackets that allowed the boat's occupants to pull them out of the water and provide first aid until they could get them back to shore.

The girls were taken to a nearby hospital and were pronounced dead upon arrival, sheriff's officials said. No other injuries were reported in the crash.

The accident remains under investigation by the Sheriff's Office and the Illinois Conservation Police and an autopsy was scheduled to take place Thursday.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office said in a social media post that it “extends its condolences to the girls' families and others involved in this tragic boating accident.”

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